The first case study was created by Mohawk College: design a smart home solution using IoT technologies in the house. Students were provided with a plan of a two-bedroom house and instructed to design a smart home for the Canadian market, specifically for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The end goal was to have the students present their designs along with a detailed explanation for their choices of technologies. Moreover, they had to submit a video presentation or a PowerPoint with an audio narration of their work.
The second case study was based on a real scenario encountered by TakeCare Supply, the company that developed Canada’s first evidence-based reusable masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. These masks are made of fabric, enhanced with additional filtration that can improve respiratory protection. When the pandemic began, TakeCare rapidly created mask prototypes and helped retool mask factories with the goal to help rebuild Canada’s manufacturing base and keep factory workers employed. This helped in the production of medical-grade masks and improved healthcare worker access to masks. In the case study, Kevin Vuong, co-founder of TakeCare Supply, presented this problem for the students: what do you do when the business’ manufacturing capacity could not meet the increasing demand for reusable masks? The students had to complete the task following seven criteria they learned from ICTC’s Advanced Manufacturing e-learning course.
The students presented their solutions on March 25 to the Mohawk College judges, Dr. Esteve Hassan, Industrial Research Chair for IIOT Applications; Dr. Bilal Momani, Professor of Computer Science; Wayne Visser, Computer Science faculty member; and Dr. Saeed Toosizadeh, Control Engineering, member of IoT Expert Board and AI Advisory Group.
On March 30, the judges announced the case study competition winners:
- In first position: Christopher Baye, Darius Fang, Skyler Recknell, Jia Von Then – Case Study 1
- In second position: Ashli Forbes, Austin Kane, Adam McLennan– Case Study 2
- In third position: Colin Barber, Samuel Fahie, Colleen Tremain, Eilia Yezdanian – Case Study 1
Here is what some of our participating students had to say about their experience:
“The WIL Digital Model was a great way to test my classroom knowledge against a real-world problem during my last year of university. The supply chain case study from a local manufacturer was very relevant to the course material, the guest speakers gave engaging presentations, and the faculty from Mohawk College provided thoughtful feedback on our AI/automation solution. The opportunity to meet the company’s founder at the end helped make the course more rewarding than any school project.”
– Adam McLennan
“The course work covered the basics of advanced manufacturing and of the Internet of Things that can be applicable to nearly every industry. Entering the program, I had very minimal knowledge on the topic and saw little connection to my field of study of Liberal Arts and Commerce. However, through the case study component of the course specifically, I was able to apply the knowledge I gained from the modules to real-world scenarios and could see many opportunities to apply advanced manufacturing and IoT technology to my future studies and work! Overall a thoroughly enjoyable and educational experience.”
– Rachel Bruce
“I am very grateful to have been accepted into this program. I have acquired a lot of foundational knowledge that will help me build a strong career in the future. I have no regrets spending my time and effort on this case study because the Mohawk College professors and lecturers were so receptive of my work. I thank you once again for spending the time and effort sharing knowledge with me.”
– Jia Von Then
Congratulations to all participants for participating in this challenge!
Find out how you can get involved in the WIL Digital program and the e-learning courses here.
